Mufasa and the Healers
by vayetze
Summary: Mufasa does not die in the gorge. In fact he is brought back to health by a pride of healer lionesses. Nala meanwhile is having second thoughts on her up coming marriage to Simba. She would rather be a healer instead of being queen. Can an older lion be her new love? Nala x Mufasa Simba x OC
1. Chapter 1

Chapter Medicine Pride

Mufasa awoke in a strange cave. He was lying on a zebra skin. The last thing he remembered was being thrown into the gorge and Simba crying over him. Then Scar telling Simba to run away and never return. Scar had also sent someone to kill Simba. Mufasa tried to rise. He had to find the body of his son. But he ached all over.

"It will take you awhile to get well" a calm voice said. A middle-aged white lioness came over to him. "You need to rest now."

Mufasa roared. "Where am I? Who brought me here? I need to get back to the Pridelands" Mufasa rose again and spoke in an angry voice. But this time it was too much. He lay back down and coughed.

"Very well. If you promise to rest, I will send Rafiki to explain everything to you. My name is Matimba and you are in the jungle oasis on the edge of the desert kingdoms. You are in the home of the Medicine Pride." The lioness put a paw on top of Mufasa's head. "Now lay back down or I will be forced to restrain you with vines. I will have you talk to Rafiki. My name is Matimba. I am the Queen and the chief healer of this pride. Even though you were a king, now you are my patient and it is up to me to say whether you are well."

"All right, I will rest." Mufasa became calmer. He lay back down but stayed awake. "May I speak to Rafiki now?"

"You are a lousy patient, but, nevetheless I will honor your request," Matimba replied. "Rafiki, could you come in here, please? Mufasa is awake and he is anxious to speak to you. He is quite stubborn and he won't rest. Please tell him if he has any more outbursts it will make his recovery take longer!"

"Of course, Queen Matimba!" the mandrill stated as he stepped into the room. "I will make sure Mufasa rests, your Majesty." Rafiki sat down in front of Mufasa with his stick.

"Rafiki, I need to get back to the Pridelands. I need to find Simba" Mufasa grew frantic. He tried to rise again and coughed. Rafiki came over and hit Mufasa over the head with his stick.

"Oww! What was that for?" Mufasa yelled. He rubbed his head with his paw.

"It was the only way I could make you rest! You are injured very badly Mufasa and you are lucky to be alive! You cannot go back to the Pridelands! Scar tried to kill you! He is king of the Pridelands now.!"Rafiki stated.

"What about Simba?" Mufasa asked. He was reluctant to find out the truth but he had to know. Rafiki hung his head in sadness. Then he stated the horrible words with an air of finality "Simba is dead!"

Mufasa and Rafiki both cried. "What happened?" Mufasa asked.

"Scar said he ran back into the gorge after he saw you fall and he was trampled by the wildebeest. So you see, Mufasa there is no reason for you to go back to the Pridelands."

"What about Sarabi?"

"Scar has made her his queen and wife."

"I would have been better off dead, Rafiki."

"No, Mufasa do not say that. You can make a new life for yourself in this pride. You can take a new mate and have a new family. You could become a healer like me. All of the lion prides need new Medicine pride was created for this purpose."

"How did I get here?"

"I found you in the gorge. I had to get you out of here before Scar was going to bury you. I had Amelia, the elephant matriarch take you here. You were unconscious and your injuries were so severe I decided to take you here. It was the best place. This pride has all of the latest medicines to save lions and other animals. You came here two days ago. Now, you must rest Mufasa. I have to get back to the Pridelands before Scar misses me. I told him I was coming here to get new medicines."

"Does Scar know I am gone?"

"Scar thinks you are dead. I made arrangements to bury your body. I took some old elephant bones from the elephant grave yard and buried them in back of Pride Rock. Then we held your funeral. I did this after I got you on Amelia's back. Now I have to go back to the Pridelands Mufasa. Stay here and rest. Get well. This pride needs at least one more male lion. Make a new life here for yourself Mufasa. Don't come back to Pride Rock until Scar is no longer king. I will come here and check on you once in awhile. Goodbye, old friend." Mufasa and Rafiki hugged each other and Rafiki left.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two A New Heir for Scar

Two years passed and Nala was an adolescent lioness. The Pridelands deteriorated and game became scarce. Scar wanted to bear a new heir to continue his bloodline. He did not have a child be Queen Sarabi so he divorced her and tried to pick out a new lioness to be his queen. And he set his sights for Nala.

Nala tried to make sure she was never alone with Scar. He always tried to talk to her and nuzzle her but she found his touch abhorrent. He offered to make her his queen but she said one day when she woke up she found all of the lioness's gone.

"Ah, I see ! You are awake, Nala! I have been wanting to get you alone for a long time!' the malevolent voice chuckled. It was Scar. Nala tried to jump to her feet but Scar pinned her down. His face was above her and she could not move.

"We can make this pleasant or unpleasant, Nala," Scar said. "I am going to have my heir whether you like it or not. You could have avoided this, Nala had you consented to be my queen."

Nala struggled to get away from him. He was too powerful. He slapped her face as she struggled and raked his claws across her neck. He hurt her badly. She could barely stand when he was finished with her. She barely recovered and then he was on her again. When he was finished, Scar told her that it was sufficient.

"I look forward to hearing the glad news of the birth of my son", declared Scar. "Then, you can be my queen."

"I will never be your queen, " Nala said. Nala recovered and talked to Sarabi. Then two days later she ran away to the jungle oasis and found Simba. Then Simba overthrew Scar and took over the throne.

Simba wanted Nala to become queen but she felt reluctant to. She became moody and started crying. Then her belly began to swell. She was always reluctant to have Simba touch her. She also began to feel nausesous. She went to Rafiki and Rafiki examined her and told her she was pregnant.

"I am sure Simba will be happy with the news Nala, " Rafiki said. " You can marry him now."

Nala started to cry. "This baby is not Simba's. I have hardly shown any affection towards Simba. A month ago Scar forced himself on me. This baby is Scar's. What am I going to tell , Simba?"

"We will talk to the King, together Nala." Rafiki said. "We will do it right now."

Rafiki and Nala went to see Simba. They were not prepared for Simba's reaction. "Are you sure you did not find pleasure in this Nala?" Simba asked. "Could you not have done anything to stop it?"

"No, Simba" Nala replied. "Scar beat me up. Ask Sarabi."

"I will do that. And I have decided what to do. This is a disgrace, Nala. I cannot have an offspring of Scar's in my kingdom, but I won't kill the child and I still need you as queen. We will send you away for a year to have the cub. You will give it up for adoption then you will come back and marry me and become queen. I really cannot think of anyone else who is suitable."

"Where will you send me, Simba?"

"I can send you to the jungle oasis to Timon's family. You can stay with them until you have the cub. Then you can give it to the Medicine Pride. They take in orphan cubs and raise them to become healers"

"What if I do not want to give it up?" Nala asked.

"Nala, do you want to be reminded of your disgrace? And , what will you do if you are not queen?"

"I thought I might become a healer and I would bring the cub back to the Pridelands and raise it."

"That is out of the question, Nala. That cub is Scar's and may try to take away my throne. I cannot allow that. But you just gave me an idea. You can go to the Medicine Pride and become a journeyman healer. You can stay for two can become Chief Medic as well as Queen. Then when you come back, you can marry me and we will have our cubs. You can give this one up for adoption. Why do you want to keep, it? It will only remind you of what happened with Scar!.'"

Nala bowed her head. It was a good solution. She was glad she would be away from Simba for two years. And maybe when she was with the Medicine Pride, she would find a way to keep her cub.

Rafiki shook his head. If Mufasa were still king, he would have found a place for the cub in his kingdom and might have even made it his heir.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three Mufasa's Recovery

It took six months for Mufasa to recover. He had started out taking small walks around his room, then there was physical therapy. Some of the lioness healers would twist his limbs this way and that. Then they would give him exercises to do. He also went to the sulphur spring baths once a week. He then started taking short walks around the hospital and outside on the hospital grounds. After six months he was able to join on hunting parties with members of the Medicine Pride who were not healers.

Queen Matimba told him in just a few more months he would be physically fit."You can stay with us if you like. I could use someone to organize this hospital and the healer school. And you could also become a junior healer. This is a course for lay lions like yourself or you could become a full fledged healer if you wish. Please stay with us, Mufasa."

Mufasa consented to stay with the Medicine Pride. He became a junior healer. He also became an adept administrator. He organized the healer school and the hospital into two separate entitites. The healers school became a teaching hospital and regular hospital stayed a regular hospital and was a place of internship for new healers. Mufasa became part of the staff of the teaching hospital and became its president. He also learned the healing arts. The two hospitals were organized at different parts of the jungle was almost two years since Mufasa had had his accident. Mufasa also found himself with an unexpected companion. A young healer lioness named Kanya quickly became his friend. Kanya was the daughter of Queen Matimba, but she was not the heir. Her sister Keri was being trained to take Matimba's place as queen. Kanya was a dark brown lioness with green eyes. Kanya was main trainer for the healers. She wanted to be the top administrator of the hospital. She excelled at management and became Mufasa's protege. He promoted her to assistant administrator of the hospital and dean of healers. The two often would eat together on kills and take long walks in the evenings. Sometimes they would discuss problems at the hospital. Today, They had a particularly prickly problem to get rid of. Kanya discussed the problem with Mufasa. "One of our apprentice lionesses just gave birth. The father is not around and she want to keep the child. If she does this she will not be able to finish her course. I suggested she place the cub in our orphanage. We could train it to be a healer but she says no. Perhaps you could talk to her, Mufasa. She is a great healer and I would hate to see her give up her career just to take care of an illegitimate cub. I also tried to get her to put it up for adoption but she refuses to do so. Maybe you could talk some sense into her?"

'"Kanya, this falls into the realm of your duties. I can give you some advice though. Why don't you tell her to leave the cub with relatives? They could take care of it while she finishes her training."

"That is an excellent idea, Mufasa. Why didn't I think of that? We make a good team, Mufasa." Kanya nuzzled him.

"Please do not do that, Kanya. I am just not interested." Mufasa said. He turned away from the brown lioness . She was a good administrator but he did not like her that way. She was only a colleague to him.

"I will back off for now, but I hope to win your heart Mufasa." Kanya replied. Mufasa just shrugged. A year passed. Kanya and Mufasa became colleagues but she was too obsessed with him. He did not want her to be his mate at all.

Rafiki came to see Mufasa and told him about Simba becoming king. He had not been to see Mufasa for a long time because he was trying to teach Simba to become King and he could not get away. Mufasa was overjoyed. He wanted to return to Sarabi and see his son. "I am sorry, Mufasa but Sarabi is dead. When Scar was King, the lionesses did not have much to eat and were terribly thin. Sarabi caught tick fever. I tried to help her but she could not fight the disease off. She did not even want to live. And she was also upset with Simba because he did not marry Nala. He sent Nala away because Scar forced himself on Nala and she became told Nala she would have to give up her cub and then return to him to become queen. Sarabi tried to get Simba to accept Nala's cub. He refused to. Simba is not merciful like you, son is different. He is bitter. I do not know if he should marry Nala. I am afraid that he will never make her forget that she bore Scar's offspring."

Mufasa was horrified. He had always adored Nala and thought she would make a fine mate for his son."Where is Nala, now?"

"Nala is here, old friend. . She came here to become a healer. She studied until she gave birth. She let her brother adopt the cub and raise it as his own. Then she continued with her studies. She is almost finished with her course and she will graduate. Maybe you can wait and return to the Pridelands with Nala. Nala and Simba can then set the date for their wedding."

"Rafiki, why did you not tell me this sooner? I could have helped Nala through this. I could have been there for her. I need to see her immediately."

"Calm down, Mufasa. She will finished with classes for the week in two days. You can see her then."

Besides she is going to be the class valedictorian. You are going to be meeting with her anyway."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four Meeting with Nala

Nala was summoned to the Office o f the President of the Healer School. As she waited on an antelope covered rock, she thought about her life so far. She was proud of being valedictorian and of becoming a healer but she had one regret in her life, the loss of her cub, Tau.

Nala had arrived at the healer school heavily pregnant. She showed promise in her classes and did not think about her pregnancy too much. Halfway though the first year, she gave birth to a strapping boy with a brown pelt. He had a black mane but was shaped more like her instead of Scar. He even had Nala's blue eyes. She named him Tau after her grandfather. She loved him and wanted to raise him herself. But Kanya, the dean in charge of the healers told her that she would be expelled from the school if she did not give up her cub. Lionesses with cubs were not permitted to become healers until the cubs were at least two years old. Kanya had suggested that she give the cub up to the orphanage in the Medicine Pride. Tau would be raised at the orphanage to become a healer. Another option was to give him up for adoption. Nala would not do either one. At this point, Kanya threatened her. "King Simba who is paying for your training, expects you to give up this cub. What am I going to tell him? How will you take care of this cub if you have no pride to go to?"

Kanya continued'"I am going to see the President of the school about this. Maybe he can suggest something. I know one thing though. If you do not finish your course here, Simba will not allow you to return to the Pridelands."

After one day, Nala had decided she would join her father's pride. Maybe he would accept her and the cub. She had enough training to work as a lay healer. She could come back when Tau was two years old. She would tell this when she would be summoned to see Kanya again. When she came to see Kanya in the latter's office Nala found Kanya had made up plans for her. "I have some great news for you, Nala, " the Dean of Healers stated. '"I contacted your father and brother about your little problem and they will look after your son until you complete your studies here. After that you can either take your son or leave him with your father's family. Your brother has a mate who has trouble having cubs. She is really excited about raising Tau. In fact your brother and his wife were coming here to adopt another cub and they were very excited about getting my message."

Nala was stunned. She did not want to give Tau away. She told Kanya "NO!"

"What do you mean, no? Your son is going with your relatives. He will be cared for until you can have him and you can finish your studies. Then you can make up your mind whether to go to your father's pride or marry King Simba. This is the best solution. If I were you, I would give your son to your brother. You can have more children! I am sure King Simba would agree with me!'"

"I want my son. I will go to my father's pride and become their healer. When my son is two, I will return to complete my studies."

"That will be hard. And your pride has one of our graduates already placed there as a healer. They do not need you. Your son will be in good hands and you can visit him and then raise him after you complete your studies. This plan will work out for everyone. In fact, I have been keeping in touch with King Simba. I told him that the child will be placed with your family."

Nala hung her head in defeat. She agreed to the plan. At least she would be able to return for her son in another year. But after a few visits with Tau, she realized that she was no longer his mother. Mheetu and his wife had developed an attachment to the cub. They had taken Tau and adopted a girl cub. Tau hardly ever wanted to visit with her and he called Mheetu's wife his Mommy. Mheetu was going to be the new King of the Pride and he was making Tau the Crown Prince. He asked Nala if he could adopt Tau. For Tau's sake Nala agreed. Her child would have a better future with a real family that loved him and cared for him. Sadly she realized he would be better off with them and he would be a king and heir. She could still see her son once in a while but she was more like an aunt to him then his mother. So all she could do was finish her studies and come home to King Simba. And that time was fast approaching. Once she was back in the Pridelands she would be expected to assume her duties as Queen. Simba had been in contact with the school and he told her to take the leadership training in addition to her medical training. She completed these classes and now she would be able to assume her duties as queen once she graduated. Zazu, Rafiki, and Sarafina would give her the lessons and King Simba would gradually initiate her into her duties as monarch. She really did not like the direction her life was taking but what choice did she have? She owed Simba some of her time because he had paid for her training as a healer. At least she would also be Chief Medic.

A lioness summoned her to the President's office. When she stepped inside, she gasped in shock. A large golden lion with a magnificent red mane and gorgeous ruby orbs smiled at her. He looked a little older but he was still powerful and regal and he still took her breath away. The last time she had seen this beloved face was when this same lion has rescued her from three hyenas when she was just a cub. It was King Mufasa. "King Mufasa," she cried. 'what are you doing here? Is it really you?'"Then she ran to the large lion and threw her forelegs around him. He hugged her back.

"I am no longer a king, " Mufasa said. "You can call me Mufasa or just Dad since we are almost family. And Nala you are beautiful. I am so proud of you for becoming a healer. It will only add to your talents as queen."

"How did you get here?"

"Rafiki had an elephant bring me here after Scar dropped me into the gorge. This pride was fairly new back then. I was healed in six months. I did not go back because Rafiki though that Scar would attempt to murder me again if he found out I was alive. I stayed on to train as a healer and organize and administer the school. And I did not know about Simba or you until this week. Rafiki has not been to see me in a long time."

"Are you coming back to the Pridelands, Mufasa? I am sure Simba would love to see you back there and so would I. You could be King again."

"I am going to let Simba be King, Nala. In fact I am going to resign my position here and act as a medic and an advisor to my son if he will have me. I can hardly wait to get back to the Pridelands and attend the wedding of my son and future daughter-in-law. And I look forward to having grandkids."

At the mention of this Nala's eyes welled with tears. She really missed her son. She felt she had to tell Mufasa about Tau, "Mufasa, there is something I have to tell you." She told him everything about Scar, Simba's plan to send her to become a healer, and how Kanya had forced her to give up Tau to her brother. She even explained that Mheetu had made Tau a crown prince and that she felt that Tau had a better future with Mheetu "Mufasa, am I a bad parent for giving him up?"

Mufasa looked at her with his gentle eyes and said in a strong voice:

"No, I think you wanted him to have a good future. It seems to me that he is happy and well adjusted from what you tell me. He is probably better off with your brother since Simba refused to accept him' Do not feel bad, Nala. You were unselfish. You did what was best for your son. You put his welfare above your need to have him with you. It seems to me that you are a good mother." Mufasa patted her paw with his own larger one. Nala felt better. It would be great to have Mufasa back with her in the Pridelands.

All too soon Nala finished her classes and attended her graduation. Mheetu, Mufasa, and even Tau attended as well as Nala's father. King Simba was too busy to attend. He would welcome her home. Mufasa did not announce his return. He wanted to surprise his son. In fact he decided that he would let Nala see Simba first, then he would return two weeks later.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five Arrival in the Pridelands.

Nala decided to do patrol duty today. Simba needed others besides himself to go on patrol. She wanted to guide Mufasa into the Pridelands. He was going to surprise his son. She got up early and stood at pride rock and looked out over the plains. She wandered around. the Pridelands. Then she saw two lions in the distance. One of them was a large golden lion with a red mane. The other was a dark brown lioness. Nala went out to meet them. She was disappointed to see that the brown lioness was Kanya.

Nala ran and hugged Mufasa. "It is so go to have you home. Your Majesty. What are you doing here, Kanya? Are you just trying to see Mufasa, home?"

"King Simba did not let you know? I have decided to take a position here as chief medic. I gave up my position as Dean. I just want to be a regular healer again. When this position became open, I applied for it."

Nala was really angry at Simba. She was going to be Chief Medic for the Pridelands. That was why Nala had been sent to Medical School in the first place. And he had not shared this with her. She was hoping that her and Mufasa could work together. Of course she had her duties as queen, but she felt she could be Chief Medic as well.

Nala's thought s were interrupted by the voice of Mufasa. "Nala, I am no longer, King and you do not have to call me Your Majesty. I am just Mufasa, remember."

"Of course, Mufasa. Listen, since this is a surprise, I will just slip in and let Simba know you are here. You can quietly meet Simba and then we can take you to see the rest of the lionesses."

Kanya stepped in."This is no surprise, Nala I sent a message to Simba that his father was alive when I was accepted for the job as Chief Medic. Simba definitely knows. Mufasa is coming. In fact Simba and I agreed that it was better to have Mufasa meet everyone then spend time with his son. After all, the lionesses have been missing Mufasa for years."

"Did you let Mufasa or me in on this, Kanya? Or just as usual plan everyone's lives?" Nala snapped.

"Well, no. After all, Simba is the final authority on everything here. I just thought it was not necessary. Why are you so upset? Mufasa does not care one way or the other, don't you Mufasa?"

"I would have like to have been informed. I wanted to see my son privately before meeting the rest of the pride, but we will go along with your plan."Mufasa stated.

"Kanya, I am queen here and one of your duties as Chief Medic is to answer to me. In the future, if you plan to discuss anything with the King, you will notify me first and I will tell him."

"As Chief Medic, I only have to answer to the king. I could even have you declared unfit for rule if I wanted to. So I can discuss anything with the King without your interference. However, your majesty I will inform you if I plan to discuss anything with the king. I will at least keep you in the loop. That is the only responsibility, I have towards you."

"Very well. But if you ignore my authority in the future, I will have you removed from your post. You will not keep anything from me again. Is that understood, Kanya?" Nala firmly stated. Her voice held a note of coldness that increased with every word she uttered. How dare this lioness go to Simba behind her back.! And what was worse, Simba allowed it.

The small party went to Pride Rock. Simba stood at the top, his mane shining in the Sun, the lionesses were gathered on the rocks below and animals surrounded everyone. When the three lions walked through the crowd of animals everyone cheered. Simba walked down Pride Rock and embraced his father. "Welcome, home Dad!" the young king said. Then he presented Mufasa to the animals. "Everyone, please welcome my father and former King Mufasa back to the Pridelands! He has come back from the dead. And now he is before us , alive and healthy!" Simba roared then Mufasa roared. The lionesses roared. The animals cheered. Then Simba turned to Kanya. "Welcome to Pride Rock, Chief Medic Kanya! Rafiki has told me about your skill as a medic. I am sure you will serve us well! Thank you for bringing my father, home!" Kanya smiled at Simba and bowed to him. "It is a pleasure to serve you, Your Majesty. I am looking forward to serving you as I served your father, Mufasa.!" Simba smiled at her. "The lionesses will show you to your quarters!"

Simba spoke again to Mufasa."Father, you and I will have a private dinner." Then the King turned to Nala. " Queen Nala will you make sure that My father and I have the zebra. Can you get some of the lionesses to bring it to us?"

"Of course, Simba," Nala said.

"And Queen Nala, in front of others you will address me as King Simba or your Majesty or Sire. Among family members in private, you can address me by my name. We have spoken of this before so please remember this from now on. I do not like repeating myself.", Simba spoke sharply to the Queen.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I will get the zebra for you and Mufasa." Nala bowed to King Simba and left. I will have to talk to him about this later., Nala thought. Mufasa looked at his son with a sigh. His son was a different King indeed. He wanted to speak to him but it was really too soon to interfere.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six On Patrol and Time with Mufasa

A month passed and the bond between Simba and Nala seemed to weaken. Nala did not like her duties as Queen. Simba would often ask her to accompany him but his requests sounded more like orders. Nala had also tried to assist Kanya in treating the sick and wounded but Nala clashed with the Chief Medic because Kanya only used the most conservative treatments on her patients. Nala knew more of the newer more recent treatments but Kanya would not let her use them. Simba and Kanya continued to exchange information and often did not tell her things. Simba had sided with Kanya when she reported how Kanya had kept things from her. As her bond with Simba, weakened her bond with Mufasa grew. He started telling her what she must do. Yesterday, he had told her about the Circle of Life. He also told her as Queen that she could act as an informal advisor and that she had to nuture the relationship with his son. "A King and Queen must build a bond of mutual love and respect for each other. They must look to each other and consider their spouse before themselves. If you treat Simba like a King Nala and respect him, I am sure that he will treat you the same way." Well she had tried and it had not worked. Simba acted like a tyrant not the wise and benevolent king she thought he was. She treated Mufasa like a king but it was not hard. He was kind, gentle, and respectful.

"I may have to consult Kanya on the health and welfare of all my advisors including you, Nala, " Simba told her when she complained about Kanya . "She does have some authority over everyone regarding health matters and that may mean that she will not always tell you everything regarding me. You will just have to accept that. And there is something else. You must not question Kanya's judgement. She has come to me regarding your interference. She has complained that you have disagreed with her treatment of some of the lionesses. I will not allow you to assist her as a healer if you do not accept her judgement."

"Simba she only uses the most conservative of treatments. She will not use the newer medicines. She has mostly been an administrator the last few years. I am a better healer than she is. She may put someone's life in danger."

"Nala, just because she uses conservative treatments does not mean that she is not a good healer. So far, she has done everything right. I will not have you questioning her judgement. I have made her Chief Medic and you must accept that. And as for your duties, you have been neglecting them. You must take over more of your duties as queen. You will spend more time taking lessons from my father and Zazu. And you will start accompanying me on patrol in the mornings. You need to get up early."

So Nala was up extra early today and staring out at the plains of the Pridelands extremely dissatisfied with the route her life was taking. She heard soft steps padding behind her . She turned around and saw it was Sarafina, her mother. "Hi, Mom," Nala said. She sounded depressed.

"Nala, what is wrong?" Sarafina asked. "You seem so unhappy and you are always arguing with Simba. And you are always questioning the chief medic. You only seem happy when you are taking lessons with Mufasa."

"Mom, I do not want to be Queen and I do not want to marry Simba. I want to leave Pride Rock and work as a healer. I want to see my son. I miss him."

"Nala, your son is better off where he is. He is in the only home he has ever known. And Simba sent you to the Medicine Pride so that you could use the duties of a healer as part of your job to serve him and our pride as queen. You have responsibilities and obligations, Nala. Because the Pride sponsored your training, you need to serve them."

"Mom, why can't I serve them as a healer?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Nala. You were betrothed to Simba when you were just a cub. He is your destiny. Simba only indulged you because he thought you would settle down once you got your training over with and he thought it would be good to add to you knowledge as queen. He did not mean for you to be the Chief Medic of the Pride."

"Mom, I cannot accept this."

"Darling, you must. Most lionesses would love to be in your place. Simba will be a wise and just king. He will mature. Just give him time. And give your relationship a chance. The two of you will grow to love each other just as Mufasa and Sarabi did. I still miss her. When I had to leave your father's pride because he did not make me queen, it was Sarabi and Mufasa who took me in. And when they found that you were the daughter of a king, they were overjoyed at your birth. You were meant to be their son's wife. So you see, Nala, since Sarabi and Mufasa let us into this pride you owe it to both of them to marry their son. Your place is with Simba as his queen. So accept your place in the Circle of Life and be happy with it. Very few of us have our destiny mapped out so neatly."

"Yes, mother. You are right," Nala agreed.

"I am glad we had this talk. Now if you continue to have problems, you know I am there for you sweet heart. You just come and talk to you old Mom anytime."

"Yes, I promise I will." Sarafina nuzzled her daughter and left. Nala hung her head in defeat. There was no way she could get out of her obligations.

To make matters worse, Simba appeared before her with a scowl on his face. "Are you ready to join me, Nala?" the young king asked. Nala looked at him and could not help comparing him to Mufasa. He felt short when it came to his father. He did not look like he was intelligent or even benevolent. He always seemed unsure of himself. And when he was around her he always looked unhappy. She felt she had to tiptoe around him. "You could at least pretend that you are interested in joining me for patrol, Nala," Simba spoke sharply."You must keep your mind on the task at hand instead of thinking about how you dislike it."

"Would you quit ordering me around, like I am one of your servants? I am going to be your wife, you know."

"Please keep your sentiments to yourself, Nala. We are going to have company today. I invited Chief Medic Kanya to join us on patrol. As a healer, she needs to know the layout of the Pridelands."

"Can't Rafiki show her the Pridelands? Why does she have to join us?"

"It is my wish as King, Nala. Kanya is one of our most important advisers. She needs to know about the health of the animals in the Pridelands. And as queen, you need to get along with her. Your feud with her is damaging the Pride. One of your jobs here is to be a role model for our subjects. This walk will give you a chance to spend some time with her."

Nala fumed but was silent. "Good morning, Your Majesties." Kanya greeted them. "It is a lovely morning to go touring my new home. King Simba, I have heard that the Pridelands is a lovely place. I can hardly wait to see it. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to perform this duty. Queen Nala, I am glad to see you are going on this patrol here too. It will give me a chance to see how both of you interact with the animals of the pridelands and to see their emotional state. Emotional state plays an important role in maintaining one's health.'"

"I am glad, you could join us today, Chief Medic Kanya. Knowing the emotional state of our animals will help you to perform your medical duties. Queen Nala and I are grateful to have you as our Chief Medic. Aren't we Queen Nala?" Simba slapped Nala's rump with his tail. She answered in a dull tone. "Yes, it is good to have you here, Chief Medic Kanya." The trio stopped by the watering hole and continued to the savannah.

When they came to the savannah, they were greeted by the elders of the wildebeests. "King Simba and Queen Nala, the buffalo are going into our grasslands. It is King Boma and his herd. Could you talk to them? And the cheetahs grabbed one of our foals. Aren't they supposed to stick with the game to the South?"

"Give me a few days to think about this," Simba replied "and then I will give you an answer."

"But this is critical. The buffalo may take all of our grass and we need more patrols to keep track of the cheetahs."

"All solutions take time, my subjects. I will give you a message in a few days."

"We don't have a few days, King Simba. If you cannot solve this problem, we will leave the Pridelands and you will have to hunt your game elsewhere." Nala was appalled. Simba could not even think quickly a pressing problem for a new king.

Nala stepped forward and spoke. "Elders of the Wildebeest, I will talk to King Boma and his herd. They can move to the tougher grasslands of the west. We will send some of the other lionesses to patrol your area to talk to the cheetahs. Please rest assured that we take your problems seriously."

"Thank you, Queen Nala. We will wait for your report. " The wildebeest bowed to the trio of lions and left.

Simba turned to Nala. "You do not undermine my authority as King in front of my subjects. They were asking me for solutions, not you. We are supposed to appear as a united front, but as king I have the final say on things. You made me look weak, Nala. The rest of the animals will laugh at me behind my back."

"You were not trying to listen to them and solve their problems. You were just leaving them hanging in the air. At least, I came up with solutions."

"You should have consulted me before promising the wildebeest anything. We can go to King Boma and talk to the buffalo herd, but I may not be able to spare lionesses to go on patrol to look out for cheetahs. In the future, consult me before proposing anything to my subjects. Now I have to come up with a solution to the cheetah problem before I even have a chance to think about it! You have made my job as king harder when you are supposed to be helping now on when we go on patrol, I will talk and you will say nothing unless you ask me permission to speak."

Nala closed her mouth and nodded. "Your Majesty, may I have your permission to speak?' Chief Medic Kanya asked. "I may have a solution to the problem with the cheetahs."

"Yes, Kanya go ahead."

"We will talk to the cheetahs your majesty, but why don't we make a proposal to them. We could share some of our kills with them or let them hunt in a wider area, if they become our guards for the Pridelands. They could help patrol the Pridelands and guard all of the animals against poaching. If they work with us, then we could keep a balance among the herds and everyone would benefit. We could also send Zazu and some of the lionesses to do guard duty with them. We use cheetahs to do patrol duty in the Medicine Pride."

"Kanya, that is an excellent solution. Thank you so much. We will talk to the buffalo first, then I will have Zazu set up a meeting with the cheetahs and tell them this proposal. Nala, Kanya just showed me right this moment how a proper Queen should behave. She does not argue in front of her king but asks his permission to speak and proposes a solution but allows him to make the final decision. You would do well to emulate this behavior in the future. Now we will go and talk to the buffalo."

Nala pretended to comply but she was seething inside. There was no way that she could marry this martinet. She was being trained to help Simba run the Pridelands and they were supposed to rule together. She did not want to be his simpering little wife that would just wait on him and raise his heirs. He had just humiliated her inf front of the Chief Medic. Even now the two of them were talking and ignoring her. It seemed Kanya was much more suited to be Simba's Queen. They deserved each other. She was aching to get home and talk to talked to the buffalo and finished the tour of the Pridelands. Kanya kept asking Simba questions. It seemed she wanted to flatter the king like a syncophant. Nala remained silent and bitter. When Simba tried to ask her opinion, she told him to go ahead with his own. In fact, she commented wryly "Why ask me anything? Am I not supposed to agree with you and not even think?"

"No, Nala. When we are not in front of our subjects or in private, you can give me your opinion. You are after all one of my advisers."

"Maybe you should give me a set of queen rules, Simba. I'll memorize them and act like one of your lackeys." They were now at the foot of Pride Rock.

"You need to quit arguing with me, Nala." Simba said. "but tomorrow I will have a discussion with you on your conduct. Excuse me ladies. I need to get Zazu to contact the cheetahs." The King climbed Pride Rock and went into the den.

"I have to go see my patients, " Kanya said. She walked to a small group of rocks behind Pride rock. This was where her office and the medical cave was located.

Nala longed to talk to Mufasa. She decided to look for him. She saw he was talking to Kanya near the medical rocks.

"I really did great Mufasa.' Kanya bragged. "I suggested that Simba make the cheetahs guards." She related the story of their encounter with the wildebeest. "I am really getting along well with Simba, Mufasa. I am so glad I was able to help him."

"I am pleased you are getting along with my son and your king." Mufasa remarked.

"Nala does not get along too well with him I'm afraid. She kept arguing with him. And when he tried to discipline her like a proper husband should, she just continued arguing. You will need to talk to her about her wifely role, Mufasa."

Mufasa roared at Kanya and she backed away. "The relationship between the King and Queen is none of your business Kanya unless one of them has a medical problem that makes them unfit to rule. You would do well to keep your mind on medical matters."

"You are right, Mufasa. I am truly sorry. Listen, will you help me with my patients before you have your lesson with Nala?"

"Yes, Kanya I will."

"Thank you, Mufasa." She nuzzled Mufasa's cheek and put her head in his red mane. Mufasa backed away. "You must not do that, Kanya. I like you as a friend but I am not ready for that type of relationship just yet."

"All right, Mufasa." She nodded to Mufasa and the two of them walked to the Medical Rocks. Nala turned around shocked. She realized that Kanya was in love with Mufasa and had designs on him. And what 's more the thought of Kanya being with Mufasa in that way irritated her.

That evening she was wandering the Pridelands with Mufasa. Mufasa had been helping with the patients and he accompanied Zazu to look for the leaders of the cheetahs. Zazu, Mufasa, and Simba would be meeting with the cheetahs tomorrow to tell them of the guarding proposal.

Tonight, Mufasa spoke about the stars being the Great Kings and Queens of the Past. He told her that if he ever needed guidance, she could seek it from them. Then he told her about cultivating a relationship with her husband. "The bond between a husband and wife is the most important one a lion can form. It must be tended to like a plant. Nothing must interfere with building the bond between you and your mate, Nala. Through the bond formed between a husband and wife, the family remains strong. And as King and Queen, you and Simba must show that you have a strong bond. A pride is only as strong as the bond of its leaders. This creates stability in the Pride. Lionesses are more Soft Nala. You need to be loving and caring towards Simba and I guarantee you, he will respect you more and treat you better.

We lions have to be aggressive in order to protect the pride so it is important for a lion to come home to a loving and affectionate wife. If you are gentle towards Simba, Nala, you will cause him to be gentle towards you. You will encourage his softer more gentle side. Sarabi and I had to nurture our bond, Nala. We had our differences, but we realized that our marriage bond was the key to maintaining our family and the peace and stability of our kingdom. And nurturing that bond built up the love between us, Nala. I hope you and Simba have the same type of bond. It will be one of the greatest gifts you cangive to your mate. Talk to Simba about your marriage bond, Nala. You two have not established one yet and there are too many differences between you."

"We are going to meet tomorrow morning to talk about it. Mufasa."

"That is very good, Nala. I am supposed to meet with the cheetahs tomorrow along with Simba and Zazu. I will make sure that Simba talks to you about your marriage bond. And maybe, you would like to accompany us to meet with the cheetahs."

"Simba did not ask me to,Mufasa."

"Nevertheless, I will suggest it as part of your training as queen. And Nala, what is going on? You seems so unhappy since you have been back here."

"I do not know if I can be a good queen, Mufasa. And I do not love Simba yet. And I miss my son." She burst into tears. Mufasa put a foreleg around her and she cried into his mane.

"It takes time to develop as a queen and as a good mate, Nala" Mufasa said as he held her. "Just give your relationship time. And maybe I will have a talk with Simba about letting you see your son." Nala moved out of Mufasa's embrace.

"Thank you, Mufasa. I guess I had better go back now. It is getting late." She hugged Mufasa.

"Nala, all this talk about marriage has made me lonely. Will you stay with me tonight? I enjoy talking to you."

"Yes, I will." The two lions lay apart from each other but talked. They looked at the stars and fell asleep on the savannah. Nala had not had such a good night's rest since she had come to the Pridelands. In the morning she awoke and Mufasa was still there. It was early.

"Nala, we had better get back. And it would be better if we did not walk into Pride Rock together. You had better go first. Simba will be concerned about you."

Nala agreed. "I liked being with you, Mufasa."

"I liked it too. We will do it again sometime. Now, You had better go back to Simba." Mufasa watched as Nala mounted the steps if pride Rock. Why did he get this feeling of warmth in his stomach everytime he thought about her?

Nala came back to Pride Rock. Simba was up on the Rock waiting for her. "Where were you, Nala? I was very concerned for you. How can I protect you if I do not know where you are?"

Nala looked at the young king. She wanted to retort that he had not shown much concern for her until now. But she decided she would take Mufasa's advice." I am sorry. I fell asleep on the savannah last night. I was near Pride rock, so I was perfectly safe. I will try to tell you if I plan to do such a thing. Listen, Simba I am sorry for the way I have treated you. I should respect you as the King. Can we have breakfast and discuss how we should get along?"

"Yes, of course. I accept your apology , Nala. I will have the lionesses bring back some fresh antelope."

The meeting went well. Nala agreed to be more submissive to Simba and not to question his judgment. He agreed to let her voice her opinion as long as she asked him to speak in front of others. He also agreed to discuss any conflicts with her in private. He also agreed to be a little less formal and said she could call him, Simba instead of "King Simba" or "Your Majesty". Then she asked him to accompany him to the meeting with the cheetahs. She told him she needed to attend negotiations as it would help her training as queen. Simba thought it would be a good idea. He even told her that he might ask her opinion at this meeting.

Nala accompanied Simba and found that she liked attending the meeting. She asked Simba if she could speak about how long the guard's shifts had to be. She gave the suggestion of three hours when there were enough guards and five when there were a shortage. All of the leaders thought it was a great suggestion and praised the queen for coming up with such a good idea. Mufasa positively smiled at her. Mufasa's smile warmed Nala's heart.

"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven Hunting Party and Mufasa's Injuries

Two weeks passed. Nala was slowly getting used to performing her duties as queen. Kanya seemed to be doing all right with the patients but she refused to do surgeries because the techniques were too new. Nala was alarmed about this and tried to talk to Simba but her brushed her off. She still kept taking lessons with Mufasa. Again he asked her to spend the night with him on the savannah. He talked to her about hunting techniques. "I insisted on learning how to hunt. And I must say I was quite good at it Sarabi taught me. And when I was with the Medicine Pride I did some hunting for them after I got well. I would like to go hunting with you and the lionesses tomorrow, Nala" Mufasa chuckled.

"Mufasa, we are going to try to bring down some rogue buffalo. It might be dangerous.'

"I hunted buffalo with the Medicine Pride. I am sure I can help you."

"Well then, I will ask Simba tomorrow morning. But I don't want you to get involved until all of us bring the buffalo down. I want to see you at my wedding, Mufasa." Nala hugged Mufasa.

The two spent the night on the savannah. Nala asked Mufasa how she could contact the great kings for guidance. He told her to ask them for guidance but that they would not always answer by talking to her directly. Mufasa told her that the great kings would sometimes speak through nature. They may send something as simple as a ray of sunshine or a wind, but she would know when they were trying to communicate with her. After that the two of them lay on the grass and looked up at the stars. They were not close to each other but felt comfortable in each other's prescence. Nala told Simba she would be sleeping on the savannah to night. Both Mufasa and Nala fell into a restful was glad to have nala so close to him. He wanted to nuzzle her but put those thoughts out of his head. He was as bad as Kanya. He should not be thinking about his prospective daughter-in-law that way.

Nala got up early and stretched. She went to the watering hole then waited for Simba to wake up. When Simba woke, she asked him if Mufasa could accompany them on the hunting trip. Simba said yes that he had nothing for Mufasa to do today.

The lionesses and Mufasa went to the eastern half of the kingdom and found the herd of rogue buffalo. They picked a lame cow. Kanya decided to accompany the hunt today in case anyone got injured. They surrounded the cow. One of the lioneses jumped on the cows back The others sunk their teeth in the naima's hide to bring it down. The cow yelled. Then several other cows cames towards the pride. The lionesses had the cow on the ground. Mufasa was about to join another lioness in biting the neck of the cow .When he was grabbed by another buffalo and thrown into the air. He landed on the ground. When he looked up two buffalo were near him . One kicked the old king and the other slashed Mufasa's side with one of his horns. Nala saw this and chased both buffalos off the lion. Two other lionessess charged the buffalo and they ran away.. The old cow waskilled by the lionesses. Nala shouted for Kanya. "Kanya, come over here. Mufasa is hurt." Mufasa was lying on the ground bleeding. There were bruises and a long gash on his side. Nala and Kanya stopped the bleeding with a wrap. Nala ordered two lionesses to carry Mufasa Two lionesses carried the wounded king on their backs. The other lionesses brought back the buffalo kill.

Nala was very worried about Mufasa. He kept moaning. She made sure she was by his side but Kanya kept pushing her away. "If Mufasa dies, I will hold you personally responsible, " the healer said. Nala did not say anything but decided to deal with the healer later. She still stayed with Mufasa and made sure he could see her. Mufasa was taken to the medical caverns at the back of Pride Rock. Nala accompanied Kanya and Mufasa to the cavern. "You do not need to be here, Nala, " Kanya said. "I will treat Mufasa."

"I am the queen and I can be whereever I want," Nala replied. "I will make sure Mufasa gets the best medical care. I simply do not trust you."

"Very well. I am going to use conservative methods. The gash does not seem to be bleeding. We will keep it open."

"Kanya, that gash is still deep and Mufasa needs to have the wound closed. You need to close it up with stitches. He will bleed to death or get an infection. "

"He seems fine now". Then suddenly Mufasa moaned. He complained the gash hurt and it was bleeding. Then he lost consciousness. Kanya and Nala rushed over to his side. He was clammy and blood was seeping through the wraps.

"Kanya, we have to close that wound. Mufasa will die if we don't perform the surgery. You need to get a porcupine needle ready."

"I am truly sorry. I have never performed surgery. I was always more of a medicinal healer. I can't do it.

"I will perform the surgery then. And you will help me and get two of the lionesses in here as nurses.

"Are you sure you can perform the surgery? Have you ever done it before?"

"I did it once. I will do it again." Nala was scared but she had no choice. She started barking orders. Two lionesses were set to fetch her medical kit. She went over to Mufasa and he was conscious.

"How am I?" Mufasa asked her."Am I going to die?"

"Not if I can help it,"Nala replied. 'Mufasa, I will need to close that gash with stitches. If I don't you could bleed to death. May I have permission to perform the surgery?"

"Yes, Nala, go ahead. I have faith in you. I could not be in better hands." Mufasa said.

"Mufasa, I am going to give you something to put you to sleep. You will not feel any pain." Nala told the large lion. She filled a gourd with liquid and helped Mufasa drink it. All too soon. Mufasa fell was carried to the surgical area. He was placed on a large platform then performed the surgery. She threaded a porcupine needle with antelope hair and stitched up the wound. It took an hour to close up the gash. Kanya changed dressings and controlled the bleeding. Two lionesses who were nurses assisted Nala and Kanya. They provided what ever medical supplies were needed. Another lioness was sent to inform Simba about what happened. Simba was quite angry about his father getting injured. He stormed into the surgery just as Kanya and Nala were placing dressings over the stitches in the surgery had been successful.

"What is the meaning of this Nala? How is my father? How did he get hurt? If he dies I am holding you responsible."Simba roared.

Nala finished wrapping the dressing then she went up to the young continued caring for Mufasa. "Simba,you need to be silent or you will have to leave immediately. Your father came through the surgery okay. He is very strong. But he needs quiet and rest. I will tell you what happened on the hunt when I am finished taking care of him. I will not have you yelling at the medical staff and disturbing your father's rest. I am the main healer here and I have the authority to throw you out even if you are the king. Now if you are willing to be quiet you can stay with your father for ten minutes after I move him to a patient bed." Simba nodded but did not say anything and left the surgery.

Mufasa was placed in an area reserved for surgical patients. He was placed on an antelope skin and covered by another antelope skin. He was sleeping. Simba stayed with his father for ten minutes. Nala then told him to leave. When Nala was alone with Mufasa she went over to look at him. He was sleeping peacefully but he still looked ill. She touched his mane with her paw. Then she lay next to put her head in his mane and cried "Mufasa, Mufasa".

Nala tried to care for Mufasa for the first four days of his healing. Then Kanya and the nurse lionesses took over after two days.. Mufasa slept the first two days but he was able to sit up on the fourth day. Nala also decided that she would send for Rafiki. She did not want Kanya removing the stitches from the old king. Nala decided to see Mufasa. When Nala went into the area Mufasa's bedside Kanya was talking to Mufasa. Kanya told Mufasa that he would be able to walk in three more days but he would have to be careful. His stiches would be removed tomorrow. Kanya left Mufasa's room but insisted on speaking with Nala. "Mufasa would not even be here if you had not insisted that he come on the hunt. It is your fault he got hurt. As a queen you are irresponsbile. And I don't like the way you insist on being around Mufasa all the time. I see the way you spend time with him at night on the savannah. It is disgusting. You are going to marry the King and you are trying to have an affair with his father."

"That is enough Kanya. My relationship with Mufasa is none of your concern. And let me point out that I had to perform surgery on him because you were unwilling to do so. I plan on speaking to the King about that. You need to learn the newest techniques for healing or I will send you back to your mother. I will not put our pride in danger. Now get out of here and let me speak to my prospective father-in-law" Kanya glared at Nala and left. Nala went to see Mufasa and asked how he was feeling.

Mufasa said he was fine. "No, you are not fine Mufasa. You do not look well. And you are still in pain aren't you? Nala remarked. "You know better than to lie to me."

Mufasa knew he could not hide anything from Nala. "I am in pain and I am not feeling too hot but I will survive. And I want to thank you for saving my life. If you had not performed the surgery , I do not think I would be talking to you."

"Mufasa, I would do anything for you. I just wish you had not gotten wounded on the hunt. Kanya and I were both upset you were wounded. Do you think maybe you can leave the hunting to the lionesses?"

"Yes, I will do that." Nala looked at Mufasa. His eyes were gentle and filled with pain. She had almost lost him and it was her fault She allowed him to go on the hunt. What kind of queen was she? Tears started streaming down her cheeks.

"Mufasa, I owe you an apology. It was my fault you got hurt. I should have prevented you from going on the hunt. I almost lost you." By this time she was crying.

"Nala, come closer please. Sit next to me"Mufasa said in his baritone voice. Nala sat next to Mufasa. 'He Put a foreleg around her shoulders and drew her into a hug. "Nala, please do not blame yourself. I chose to go on the hunt. It is not your fault at all. Please don't cry."His baritone voice was soft and his ruby orbs were gentle. His touch felt so good. She leaned her head into his red mane. He then licked her on the cheek and she licked him back.

"Excuse me," a voice said. It was Rafiki. " I came here to look at the King's Wounds. Tomorrow I will take out his stitches. " Nala and Mufasa broke apart. Nala told Rafiki she was glad to see him. "I will see you tomorrow Mufasa, " Nala said. Then she hurriedly left Mufasa's room. She was embarassed at being caught kissing him.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight Talk with Rafiki and Sarafina and Plans for the Wedding

Two days later Nala was asked to attend a meeting with Rafiki at his tree. Nala wondered what the meeting was about. He rarely summoned members of the royal family unless he had a vision or wanted to solve a crisis. Nala had an idea what it had to be about Mufasa kissing her. Mufasa's stitches were taken out by Rafiki. He was slowly getting better. She planned to see Mufasa again this afternoon.

When she came to the tree, Rafiki was there with her mother. Sarafina had a very stern look on her meeting was not going to be easy.

Rafiki started the meeting. "Queen Nala, " the mandrill said."Your mother and I are concerned about you relationship with King Mufasa. What is exactly your relationship with the old king?"

"He is my mentor and my father-in-law. Nothing more."

"That is not true and you know it, Nala, " Sarafina said. "Rafiki saw the two of you kissing."

"Mufasa was just comforting me mother. It was totally innocent."

"Queen Nala, I sense turmoil in you regarding your relationship with King I think you are turning too much to Mufasa for comfort. It will make things worse for the Pride if you do not nurture your relationship with your betrothed. And if you cannot do that then maybe someone else should be queen."Rafiki stated gently.

"I am trying my best to make a relationship with Simba. And Mufasa is my friend and adviser. He is giving me lessons about being a queen." Nala snapped at Rafiki.

"And, you are seeing too much of him, "Sarafina stated. "You take lessons with him everyday. You sleep with him at night on the savannah. And you took him on a hunt that injured him. And you would not let the Chief Medic or Rafiki treat him. You performed surgery on him yourself."

"Mother, Kanya is an incompetent Chief Medic. She does not know how to perform surgery. Mufasa was bleeding to death. I had no time to summon Rafiki. I am a good healer, mother. I did the right thing. Mufasa would have died if I had not performed the surgery. In fact why aren't the two of you meeting with Kanya? She should be terminated for her incompetence."

"King Simba and I met with Kanya this morning, " Rafiki stated. "Simba and I feel we can use her skills and the king likes her. She will spend some time with me learning surgical techniques and how to use the latest medicines. Until she learns, then I will perform any surgeries. I will also help with some of the patients."

Sarafina continued the discussion. "Kanya's conduct is none f your concern. But your conduct is hurting the pride, Nala. Everyone is talking about how you and Simba do not seem to get along. There seems to be barely a truce between you. You and Simba are just polite to each other. There is no substance to this leaders of the pride provide stability. Otherwise the pride splits apart. For the sake of the Pride, and since you are queen, you need to improve your relationship with Simba. And one way you can do that is to see less of his father."

"Mufasa is the only one I can turn to for advice. I need his guidance, mother. Please do not make me give him up."

"Nala, at least reduce your time with Mufasa. Don't sleep outside on the savannah when he is there. In fact, why don't you meet with him just twice a week? You can take the rest of your queen lessons from Zazu. And arrange to spend more time with Simba. The pride is gossiping about your relationship with Mufasa. And even Simba is beginning to notice. If you aren't willing to put some time into your relationship with Simba, then maybe you should step down as queen."

"Maybe, I should step down as queen. I am tired of my obligations. I would rather be a healer. " Nala said.

"Stop that kind of nonsense. Rafiki and I think you can be queen. It is your destiny. You just have to show some respect for Simba. Now all you have to do is try to see less of Mufasa and concentrate on Simba. I am sure the two of you will start developing a better relationship. Do it for the sake of the pride. Please Nala. We are all counting on you. You do not have to give up seeing Mufasa just spend more time with Simba. Now I have got to go hunting for zebra." Sarafina hugged her daughter and left.

"What about you, Rafiki? Should I continue to try to be Queen?"

Rafiki looked at her. " All leaders must do what is best for their subjects. You must decide if you can truly be the Queen of the Pridelands, Nala. Your first allegiance is to Simba. If you cannot be his loyal mate, then you should not be queen. I feel that your future is uncertain. Already, I feel that Simba may turn to another. If that happens, I do feel that you will have a comfortable future with a mate you care about. All I can tell you is that you must weigh these matters carefully and follow your conscience. Do what is best for the Pride. Do what is best for everyone, including yourself."

"All right. I will weigh these matters carefully. Does Simba know about this meeting?"

"No, he does not. The King has enough on his mind especially regarding Kanya. I thought I would just meet with you and your mother to make you aware that the pride is gossiping about you and Mufasa. I wanted to spare Simba and you embarassment"

"Thank you Rafiki." Nala then left. She had a lot to ponder.

When she returned to Pride Rock, Simba was waiting for her.

"Where were you? How can I protect you if I do not know where you are going, Nala? We discussed this before!"The young king said as he greeted her. They were in front of the sounded like he was saying what he was supposed to say. It was without warmth or regard for her.

"Quit pretending you are concerned about me Simba! You are only doing this to make me a groupie who agrees with your every move so you can feel good about yourself as king and give yourself a pat on the back! Stop all the pretense. I am sick of it! "

She tried to walk past the regal lion into the den. Simba grabbed her and turned her around to face him. "I have had enough of your insolence and disrespect, Nala. You will start treating me with the respect and honor I deserve as your mate and king or you will be exiled from the Pridelands!"

"I am sorry, Your Majesty. I will try to treat you with the respect you deserve. I will go with you on patrol if you wish.!

"Yes, I was about to go on patrol. You can go with me, today. But where were you?"

"I was meeting with Rafiki."

"Nala, you need to tell me where you are going. Or let one of the guards know. And one more thing, Nala, you are spending way too much time with my father. In fact It would be wise if you stopped seeing him completely."

"Mufasa is family Simba and about the only friend I have around here. YOU WILL NOT STOP ME FROM SEEING HIM! I will reduce the time I spend with him out of respect for your wishes but that is it. If you want to exile me for that then so be it.!"

"No, Nala. I am willing to compromise. You can see Mufasa twice a week when you have your queen lessons. Rafiki saw me this morning and suggested this after I told him my concern about you seeing too much of Mufasa."

"You talked to Rafiki behind my back! I thought you with him were meeting about Kanya. And you should have let me handle that meeting. I am a healer. I think she should have been fired and sent packing. Mufasa almost died because she would not perform surgery."

"I am sorry Nala. Kanya is a great healer and I like her. She justs need to learn some new techniques. She is also a great adviser. She was giving me ideas on more physical activity for the lionesses and recruiting more animals for the Pridelander Guards. She has become a friend and I do not want to lose her. And I think she would make a great mate for my father. She has feelings for him. I am after all the King and I make the final decisions. I though having her train with Rafiki was a good solution. Anyway, after we go on patrol, could you help Rafiki out with some of the patients until Kanya has finished her training? I am also taking Kanya to meet with some of the elephants today about joining the Pridelander Guard. Kanya has a head for diplomacy."

"I will help Rafiki out with the patients. I hope you did not express your concern for me and Mufasa to Rafiki in front of Kanya.

"Of course I did. She is still Chief Medic. She is entitled to know everything. She knows you have some strong feelings for Mufasa. They are not exactly a secret. In fact she suggested that I try to get you to stop seeing Mufasa completely but I told her that I would discuss it with you first. Now let's get started on the patrol. This discussion is finished, Nala."

Nala was livid but kept silent on patrol. This wimp of a king had no respect for her feelings. And she really did not like the King's affection for Kanya. She should be discussing the Pridelander Guard with Simba and the elephants instead of Kanya. How was she ever going to marry Simba? No matter what happened the two of them could barely tolerate each other. Maybe she would have to take this problem to the Great Kings of the Past.

A week passed and Mufasa got well. Nala tried to avoid the old king to look good in the eyes of the left most his care to Rafiki and was alarmed. He wondered what happened and what caused the rift between his daughter-in-law and him. He really and truly cared for her.

When Mufasa was better he sought her out. He told her he wanted to resume his kingship lessons with her. But he also told her that they would be finished soon and she and Simba would have to plan the could not contain the fluttering in her heart when he came to see her.

"There is something else I need to speak to you about, Nala.I have really missed you. Why have you been avoiding me all week? You are always honest with me. What has been going on?"

"Kanya and Simba think I am spending too much time with you. They wanted me to cut back on spending time with you. Kanya loves you Mufasa. And Simba wants you to marry her. As queen, I have to honor their Rafiki and my mother were concerned about this too."

"I am not going to marry Kanya. She has always just been a colleague.I find her quite annoying and I do not want any relationship with her. She is totally obsessed with me. I do not like such devotion in a lioness. It is not healthy. I feel like I cannot breathe around her. She is very immature. I even told her not to apply for the job as Chief Medic but she went behind my back and presented herself to Simba and got the job. I have made it clear that she should leave me alone. I was also angry at her for not performing the surgery. I am surprised Simba wants her to stay on. He seems to like her. In fact I an thinking of telling both of them to back off. They have no right telling you to restrict our time together. The two of them should trust us."

"Simba thinks Kanya is good at diplomacy Mufasa. Anyway I want to finish our lessons but I have to restrict our visits once I become Simba's wife.I will be busy as queen. I have missed you too. And I will still see you after I am queen as my father and friend." She touched Mufasa's cheek with her paw. Then she did something totally unexpected. She nuzzled him. After nuzzling Mufasa, she drew back. "I am sorry, Mufasa. I did not mean to do that. It just happened. It will not happen again." Mufasa looked at her gently.

"It is okay, Nala. Please do not do it again. You owe your loyalty to my son. And yes I think it is important that we both honor his wishes. We will restrict our visits. At least you are willing to consider the wishes of others, Nala.I love that about you." Mufasa put a paw around her shoulder and hugged her and she hugged him back." Kanya is just selfish. I hate her preoccupation with me. If I had Sarabi with me I would not have this problem with Kanya. I miss my Sarabi so much." Nala looked into Mufasa's eyes. He was not thinking about her at all. She saw an image of Sarabi reflected there. Sarabi lived in Mufasa.

Nala knew that her love for Mufasa was wrong. She knew she was being selfish and putting her own interests above her pride. She had disrespected her mate because she loved his father , a man she could never have. She had behaved poorly towards Kanya because of her jealousy. She had made a complete and utter disgrace of herself before her pride. She had to do what was right. She had to do what Rafiki told her to do. She had to put the interest of her pride first.

That night she gathered Rafiki and the Pride lionesses around her as well as Simba and Mufasa. "I have an announcement to make" she said. "Simba and I will get married in two days. I am ready to assume my responsibilities as queen." Simba roared and the lionesses roared but Nala did not roar. Her heart was filled with sadness. What had she gotten herself into?


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine Encounter Under the Stars

The night before her wedding Nala went out to the savannah. She looked up at the stars and asked for help from the Great Kings of the Past. She asked to increase her love for Simba and to send their guidance in helping her become a good ruler. Then she asked that the kings find Mufasa a new mate.

"I love Mufasa so much. He was such a great king and he is such a good friend. Please send him a mate that loves him like Sarabi. He deserves to be happy. "

The winds blew and the clouds grew darker. Then a gentle feminine voice called, "Nala, Nala."

Nala looked up at the sky. A brown lioness with amber eyes appeared in the sky and looked down at her. "Sarabi ?" Nala said.

"No, I am Uru, the former queen of the Pridelands and Mufasa's mother and Simba's grandmother."

"What am I supposed to do, Uru? I am so confused."

"Look inside yourself, Nala. You are more than what you have now all you are doing is trying to be queen. And in doing so, you are breaking the hearts of two lions."

"But whose hearts am I breaking Uru? I am trying to be Simba's queen. Isn't that what everyone wants me to do?"

"You are breaking the heart of my grandson, Nala. You do not love Simba and he does not love you. And the two of you are only getting married because of a thousand year old tradition that needs to be eliminated. Set my grandson free, Nala. He needs a mate who loves and respects him. If you marry him, the two of you will not have a happy union and you will split the whole pride apart. You will bring disaster to the Pridelands because neither of you will be happy. A king and queen must have a good family life. That is the foundation of a successful kingdom. My grandson has another queen that he is starting to turn to. She will make him happy. Let him go to her."

"I will try Uru. But who is the other lion whose heart I am breaking?"

"You are breaking the heart of my son, Mufasa. He is torn between you and Simba. He wants to be loyal to his son but he cares for you deeply. You and he refuse to admit that you care for each other. He needs you as his mate, you set Simba free tomorrow, tell my son Mufasa how you feel. He does not know that he loves you yet but he will. Nala, you must give up being queen of the Pridelands. For the good of the kingdom you must be unselfish. You must let Simba find his true mate and you must tell Mufasa how you feel. After this you will find your place in the Circle of Life." Uru's face disappeared into the clouds.

Nala ran after the clouds. "How will I do this? Uru, please don't leave me.'

The wind blew some leaves and Nala followed them down a hill. She saw Simba and Kanya lying together under the stars. At first they were apart. Then they nuzzled each other and wrapped their forelegs around each toher. Nala turned and ran away. She did not want to see anymore.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Nala knew what she had to do. She called a private meeting with Simba, Kanya, Mufasa, Rafiki, and her mother Sarafina in attendance. The meeting took place near the Medicine Cave on the morning of her wedding to Simba. Simba was perplexed. Why was this meeting being called?

Sarafina was also upset. "What is going on, Nala? You should be getting ready for your wedding."

Simba was also angry. "Why are we wasting time, here?"

Kanya said she had a medical schedule to keep and this meeting did not concern her. "Why am I here?" she asked.

"This meeting does concern you, Kanya. It concerns both you and Simba."Nala replied.

Mufasa was alarmed. "Kanya, why are you interfering with my son's coming marriage?"

Rafiki looked at the assembled group. He had them meet in one of the medical office caves. "We might as well get started. Why are you calling this meeting, Nala?"

Nala took a deep breath and looked at Simba and Kanya. "Simba and Kanya, you two are in a relationship. Please do not deny it.I saw you both last night on the grass."

Both Simba and Kanya looked embarassed. Simba recovered quickly. "Yes, we are in a relationship, but you are still going to be my queen, Nala. Kanya has agreed to become my concubine. Our children will still inherit the throne if you are concerned."

"Simba, I want to call off the wedding. I would rather not marry you."

Simba grew angry. "What is wrong with you? Kings sometimes have concubines. You can't

call off the wedding. I AM THE KING. We are betrothed. Only I can call off the wedding.!"

Nala looked at her wimp of a fiance. "I studied the laws of our pride and I consulted the Great Kings. I am allowed to call off the wedding. You cannot force me into a marriage, Simba."

Simba turned to Mufasa. "Father, can Nala do this?"

"Yes, Simba she can. We do not have forced marriages in this pride. Lionesses consent to marriage and choose their mates." Mufasa answered.

Simba began to pace back and forth.'' What am I going to do? You have embarassed me, Nala. This is the final humiliation. I have always stood by our betrothal and respected you. You are throwing away years of tradition. This has never happened before. Are you sure I cannot change your mind? If you refuse to marry me, you will not be queen. You will just be an ordinary pride lioness. And I could exile you. Have you thought about that? What will you do? "

"Simba, being queen does not mean anything to me. I would rather be a healer. Simba, I do not love you. I love someone else. I am sorry. Make Kanya your queen. She is much more suitable. In fact, you can make today's wedding your engagement party."

"Now you leave me no choice. " Simba said. "Kanya, come over here please. " Kanya came and stood in front of Simba. "Kanya, will you marry me and be my queen? I believe I love you and you are good at diplomacy and administration. You can help me rule."

"Yes, Simba, I would love to be your queen. I love you, too." Kanya replied. The two nuzzled.

"That does not mean we are finished, Nala." Simba said. "I really do not want you around me right now. I am going to reserve my judgement of you until after my engagement party. And I would prefer that you stay away from that party, Nala. Sarafina , you are welcome to come.

. And by the way, I know who you love Nala. You embarassed me in front of everyone here, so now I will return the favor. Father, come over here please."

"Yes, Simba" Mufasa said. "What is it?"

"Father, this trollop jilted me because I believe she is in love with you. Do with her what you wish. I wash my hands of her. Rafiki, Kanya, we have an engagement party to prepare."

"We are done here, " Rafiki said. " we will announce the betrothal tonight." Simba, Kanya, and Rafiki left the room.

Nala, Sarafina, and Mufasa were stunned. Sarafina reacted first. "I believe you two have things to work out. Nala, I will talk to you later. " Sarafina stated. "You will have to find some way to win Simba's favor again if you want to continue living here."

Mufasa and Nala looked at each other. Mufasa was still in shock. Nala decided to speak first.

.

She declared, "Mufasa, I love you. I have loved you from the first moment you came here. I do not want to be queen. I am sorry I could not break up with your son earlier. It was too impossible to leave this situation.!"

Mufasa became angry. It was too much to process all at once. "Nala, what do you expect me to say? That I love you? You just jilted my son, Nala. My concern for him comes first. I am not sure he would want his former betrothed to have a relationship with his father. I am really disappointed in you, Nala. You could have handled this better. I am not sure how I want to deal with this." Mufasa paced back and forth.

"Mufasa, please I love you. I do not want to lose you."

"Nala, I am too old for you. And I want to have a good relationship with Simba. I want to see my grandchildren."

"Don't you care about me at all, Mufasa? Do you want to send me into exile too? I will leave right now if you wish." She started to walk away.

"Dont't turn your back on me, Nala. " Mufasa roared and jumped in front of her."We need to talk, Nala. I am very disappointed in you. You could have called the wedding off earlier. There was no need to embarrass my son—"

Nala's eyes filled with tears She pushed past Mufasa and ran away in the direction of the Upendi Falls.

Mufasa could have kicked himself. He realized he did love Nala. He wanted to comfort her. And his son had taken up with Kanya. He would find Nala and spend time with her.

He would have to tell Simba first. He found his son with Kanya and Rafiki and they were meeting with the lionesses. He walked over the group. First he greeted Kanya. "Let me be the first to welcome you into the family, Kanya," Mufasa stated. He hugged her.

Kanya was shy around her prospective father-in-law. "Do you mind my marrying your son, Mufasa?"

"No,as long as you treat my son well. You do love him, Kanya?"

"Yes, I do Mufasa. And I am the daughter of a queen. I am good at administration. I look forward to taking lessons with you."

"Other than learning the history of our family, you will not need much training. Zazu can give that to you. You will make a fine queen, Kanya." Mufasa realized he really meant this. Kanya would help his son rule the kingdom. She was intelligent and had a lot of good ideas.

Mufasa looked at Simba. "Simba, I love Nala. Do you mind if I marry her? We could go away quietly and get married if you wish."

Simba looked at his father. "Dad I think you should marry Nala. I am really not that mad anymore. I think Kanya is going to be a great queen and I really love her. We talk about everything. I really have a great relationship with her. She is like my other half and she really completes me. I can understand now what you had with Dad you and Nala have the same kind of connection. You are happy when you are around her! She adores you!"

"I am going to Upendi Falls to find Nala, son. I am going to take her to the honeymoon cave. And I may have to miss your betrothal celebration. '

"That's okay Dad. When you and Nala come back, we can have a private one celebrating both of our betrothals. And Nala can come back Dad. I am not going to exile her."

'"I am going to go now, Simba."

"Dad. Don't go alone. There are hyena attacks up there at Upendi falls. I want Pumbaa and Timon to go with you.

"Timon! Pumbaa! Go with my father and look out for him and Nala! I want them both back here safe!" Simba told the meerkat and warthog who were his best friends.

"Aw , gee Simba we were looking forward to your engagement party! "Timon moaned. "Come on, Timon," Pumbaa said cheerfully. "Simba is our friend and we have to look after his father and Nala!" The meerkat and warthog accompanied Mufasa to Upendi Falls.

Simba looked at his beautifulffiance."Now, Kanya," Simba said to the young lioness. " I never thanked your ideas for the Pridelander Guard. You are great at diplomacy. "

"Thank you, your Majesty," Kanya told Simba.

"You don't have to call me your majesty, Kanya! " Simba said. "I am glad you are going to be my Queen. We have so much in are good at administration. I know you could help me rule the Pridelands. And I think I love you. I enjoyed being with you last night. I am glad that I did not have to make you my concubine and that I can make you my queen. I should be grateful to Nala for calling off the wedding."

"Of course, Simba. I know I will love being your Queen. I have always been good at administration. I really did not like being a healer. And I am really attracted to you and I think I love you too" They kissed. Simba and Kanya finished the preparations for the betrothal party. Everybody who went that night had a great time.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 Confrontation at Upendi Falls

Nala ended up at Upendi Falls. She wandered if Uru was wrong. Mufasa was too angry at her for jilting his son to realize he loved her. She wandered through the grass. She saw a dead zebra on the ground. She started to munch on it. Then all of a sudden she heard cackling and laughing. Three hyenas came out to see her.

"Well, look what we've got here! the leader Nasanta said."The queen poaching our kill on the Pridelands! I think we will have to do something about that.!" Kivli the female and Bongo the male moved in beside her.

Nala roared at them. She went after Bongo because he was the weakest but Kivli jumped on her back and bit her there. Nasanta went for her face. Nala fought fiercely. She bit Bongo in the neck. She rolled on the ground and almost crushed Kivli. But Nasanta got on top of her and bit her in the shoulder. The Nala got up and butted Nasanta with her head. Kivli and Nasanta came at her from each side and raked their paws on her tender skin. Blood poured from the wounds. Finally Nala with her last ounce of strength tried to pin the two female had Kivli under her paw. Bongo tried to go for her ear when all of them heard a deafening roar. Mufasa joined in the fray. He ran after Bongo and knocked him down with one swipe of his paw. Then he went after Nasanta and pinned her underneath his giant leg. Nala was so surprised to see Mufasa she let Kivli up. Kivli sank her teeth in Nala's paw but a small brown form ran straight at her and knocked her down. It was Pumbaa with Timon on his back. The three hyenas took off. They were no match for the lions and the meerkat and warthog.

"Yeah, we got those buggers didn't we Mufasa?" Timon said. Mufasa chuckled.

"Wooh! Wooh!" Pumbaa said. Mufasa laughed again. "You guys know how to fight. I can see why my son likes you two!"

Then Mufasa turned to Nala. "That was a great fight, Nala. You are a brave lioness!"

Then Mufasa's face turned serious." We did not finish our talk. I have to get over the fact you hurt my son, but I-"

Nala became angry. "Why did you come here?Are you going to send me into exile? No matter what Mufasa I will always love you. I am going back to the Medicine Pride"Nala backed away from Mufasa. Then she stepped on a cobra and it bit her in the paw.

"Nala!" Mufasa yelled. He grabbed her and slashed the snake bite on her paw with one of his claws. The he sucked up the venom from the bite on her paw and spat it out. Nala felt dizzy from losing too much blood from her wounds and the venom from the snake bite."Timon and Pumbaa, go get Rafiki and tell him to bring his snakebite medicine." The meerkat and warthog left to get Rafiki

Nala forced herself to stand and stared at Mufasa's gentle ruby orbs , then tears filled her eyes.

" I am sorry I jilted your son, Mufasa. But I don't love him! I need to be with someone I love. I will not go back to the Pridelands! Please don't hate me, Mufasa!"

"Don't talk Nala. You need medical attention. I am going to take you to the honeymoon cave and give some fruit juice to counter act the poison. You need to be quiet!" Nala started to collapse but Mufasa put her on his back.

When they reached the honeymoon cave, Mufasa found two zebra skins. He put Nala down on one and covered her with the other. The he found some passion fruit, broke it open and gave some to Nala.

Nala drank the juice but she started crying and talking.

"Why are you here? Why aren't you with Simba? I can't go back, Mufasa not after what I did. Please don't hate me! Please forgive me!"

"Nala, you need to be quiet and rest. And Nala, I don't hate you! There is nothing to forgive! I care for you and I don't want to lose you!"

Mufasa stroked her head with one of his paws.

Rafiki arrived and looked Nala over. He gave Nala the snakebite medicine. "She still has some of the snake venom in her. You got rid of most of it. She will have a fever and an infection for about a day but the she should be all right. Here is some medicine to counteract the infection from the snake bite and from her wounds. She should rest here and not be moved until her fever you must get her back to the Medicine Cave at Pride Rock to treat her wounds before they become septic. Send for me if she does not improve. I will check on her tomorrow. Make sure you continue giving her water and passion fruit. You have done a good job with her so far."

Nala started getting chills and fever. She kept crying out and begging Mufasa to forgive her. Mufasa lay down next to her and wrapped his forelegs around her. He gently brought her her head next to his red mane. He gently whispered to her.

"Nala, I am here. You have done nothing wrong. Please get well. I love you!"

.

She must have dreamed because a gentle voice told her that he loved her and everything would be all right. A sandpapery tongue licked her face. She fell asleep knowing she was safe.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 Recovery and a New Beginning

Nala woke up a two days later. She was in the healing cave of the Pridelands in the same place where Mufasa had been recovering from his wounds. She had a leaf wrap on her shoulder and salves had been placed on her cuts. There was another leaf wrap on her paw.

"Nala is awake!" Rafiki stated. Nala tried to sit up. She hurt all over. She lay back down again. Her mother Sarafina came and sat beside her. She put a paw on Nala's paw, "Nala, you must rest. You have been through a lot."

Nala raised her self up and started talking. She felt like such a fool. She was embarassed at facing Mufasa and Simba. Would Mufasa even want to talk to her again? Her eyes filled with tears. "How did I get here?' she sobbed. "I was fighting hyenas. Mufasa was there. Mufasa and that little meerkat and warthog saved me from the hyenas. I was trying to leave the Pridelands. Is Mufasa all right? Where is Mufasa? Is Mufasa angry at me? Isn't Simba going to cast me out, mother? I am so ashamed. Why was I taken back here? I am no longer queen."

Suddenly Nala started weeping. Sarafina licked the tears off her daughter's face.

"No one is angry at you Nala. Mufasa went after to you to see if you were safe. Simba sent Pumbaa and Timon after both of you. You were wounded and bitten by a cobra. Mufasa and Rafiki treated you for the snakebite. Then Mufasa carried you back here so Rafiki could treat your wounds. You are part of our pride. You could have died from infection if you were not brought back here. Mufasa and Simba are not angry with you. In fact, Simba is relieved that you are not going to marry him. He celebrated his engagement to Kanya. Their wedding will be next week. Now you need to rest for awhile. Mufasa is also fine. If you rest for a few hours, you can talk to him. In fact he would like to see you." Nala turned over and fell asleep. She was afraid to talk to Mufasa but she wanted to see if he was all right.

Nala continued to sleep. She felt a rough tongue lick her face and a huge paw rub her back. A large furry body lay next to her. She was probably dreaming. She woke again hours later and faced Simba.

.

Whe Nala woke, she saw Simba's red mane. She really did not want to face Simba but it was wise to find out what her fate was going to be. She raised herself up and found she could sit up with only a little pain. But Simba was not alone. Kanya was with him.

She looked at the two of them and wondered what her punishment was going to be. But the two of them only had eyes only for each other. They stared at her in unison as if they were one. Finally Simba spoke "Rafiki says you should be up and able to hunt in two more days, Nala. Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, Simba. I am sorry about the wedding. I should have told you I did not want to marry you.I will leave the Pridelands if you want me to."

"I'm not sorry for the wedding being called off. IAM SORRY FOR EMBARASSING YOU. That was inexcusable and I hope you will not hold it against me. I have learned my lesson. It will not happen again. Breaking up with you is the best thing that ever happened to me. I have found my new girl and she is just the one I want and love. In fact, when we get married I insist you come to the wedding. Besides, we need a new Chief Medic. My new queen does not have time to be a medic and she needs to learn her duties. You might as well stay here and be our healer. The lionesses have faith in your medical ability. So don't leave, Nala. We are all friends here and Kanya and I want you to stay."

Nala smiled at Simba"Thank you, Simba. I accept your apology and I thank you and Kanya for letting me stay in the Pridelands. I would be happy to become Chief Medic."

Nala looked at Kanya. "Kanya, I am sorry I fought with you so much.. I think it is wonderful you are going to marry Simba. I think you will make a good queen. I am looking forward becioming chief medic. I just hope I can go to the medicine pride every year to learn new medical procedures.."

Kanya looked down at her and smiled. "Simba and I want you to learn new medical procedures, and as for Mufasa,I thought I loved him, but I really love Simba. " she purred. "I am glad you jilted the way it's okay with me and Simba if you want to have a relationship with Mufasa."

"Yes Nala," Simba agreed. 'I think it's great you love my Dad. He needs somebody. You will be a great Chief Medic. You are the best. And we may have an idea hat will appeal to you. We are thinking of turning the elephant graveyard into a physical therapy and healing center. Maybe you can help with that and my father could assist you." Nala nodded. It was a great idea. Simba and Kanya had the makings of a responsible King and Queen..

Simba added, "Also, my father is anxious to see you. He was really worried about you.. He stayed with you for hours yesterday. Can he see you now?" Nala nodded. "Okay Nala. In two days, you can do your medical duties but Rafiki wants you on light duty until next week. I will send my father into you now. Goodbye, Nala." Simba and Kanya left.

Nala raised her self to sit with some dignity. What was she going to say to Mufasa? She did not hide her feelings very well. Kanya and Simba knew she loved Mufasa but did Mufasa know? Mufasa came in and sat in front of her. He looked down at her with his gentle ruby orbs. Her heart leaped when she saw him. He closed the distance between them and rubbed his magnificent red mane next to her head. She rubbed her head in his thick mane again. Then he carefully put his paws on her shoulders and brought her head next to his chest. She laid her head next to his thick red mane. They did not say anything for awhile. They did not have to. Finally he pulled her back from him and tilted her face so that she could look into his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me how you felt , Nala?" Mufasa asked. "I would have understood.!"

Nala looked up into the face of her beloved. "I thought you still loved Sarabi and needed more time to get over her death. And then you were with Kanya. I did not want to pressure you. I felt that I had to marry Simba because he was your son and I could not come between you. Then I couldn't marry Simba because I love you! I ran away because I thought I had lost you!"

"You would have saved me, Simba, and yourself a lot of heartache if you had told me this, Nala. Sarabi will always have a special place in my heart but that does not mean I cannot love another. Kanya was only a colleague. She really annoyed me. I have never loved her. She belongs with Simba. I am lonely Nala. I want to love again and have another family. I love you. Since, I have come back here my feelings for you have grown. You make me happy Nala. Will you marry me even if I may be too old for you?"

Yes, Mufasa. I will marry you and I will be more than happy to be your wife. And your age does not matter. I love you just the way you are." The two of them embraced and Mufasa kissed Nala.

Simba and Kanya married and produced a son and daughter. Mufasa and Nala got married. Nala thrived as Chief Medic and Mufasa and she opened and ran the new physcial therapy center in the elephant graveyard.. Mufasa became his son's chief adviser. Every year Mufasa and nala would visit Tau, nala's son. He was being groomed to be King of his pride. Within a year Nala gave Mufasa boy and girl twins. The twins would be raised to take over the jungle oasis where Simba had spent his childhood.

Mufasa and Nala had many happy years together with their family. Simba became a just king. He followed the advice of Mufasa, Chief Medic Nala and Queen Kanya and the Pridelands flourished under his rule.

THE END.


End file.
